Four More Years: Presidential Inaugurations
![President Grant taking the oath of office, 3/4/1873. [Library of Congress]](http://backstoryradio.org/files/2013/01/3c26311r-244x300.jpg)
President Grant taking the oath of office, 3/4/1873 [Library of Congress]
What did the first inauguration look like, and in what ways has George Washington lived on in every subsequent inauguration? How have presidents attempted to send implicit messages through the staging of their inaugurations? And how have new media technologies shaped inaugural proceedings?
Have you ever attended an inauguration? Are there any great inaugural stories in your family? What would you most like to hear the History Guys talk about as part of this show? Post your questions, stories, and ideas below!
Do Vice-Presidential inaugurations also count? PLEASE talk about Andrew Johnson’s inauguration as Vice-President. Which, for those who don’t know, was blind stinking drunk.
Has anyone else ever taken the solemn oath under the influence?
QuoteI know that John Wilkes Booth was present at Lincoln’s Second Inaugural, have there been any other “famous” audience members who have gone on the impact or interact with the President they witnessed sworn in?
QuotePlease tell me you’ll spend a little time on my favorite inaugurations that reflect social, political, and media norms and problems of their era:
Jefferson’s pointedly simple ceremonies and choice of clothing.
Andrew Jackson’s inauguration-via-block party, and the ensuing shock of polite society.
The unexpected and hurried inauguration of Arthur after Garfield’s death.
W. Bush’s worried and conciliatory inauguration amidst the uproar over Florida’s vote.
QuoteHello,
I hope you’ll spend some time on counter-inaugurals: protests at Presidential inaugurals. I’m familiar with the women’s suffrage pageant at Wilson’s 1913 inaugural – (some photos are at http://womenshistory.about.com/od/suffrage1900/ig/Woman-Suffrage-March-1913/). There were large protests at Nixon’s second inaugural in 1973 (here’s a fascinating story about the classical music concerts, both pro- and anti-inaugural (the latter led by Leonard Bernstein) that surrounded it: http://thenewnixon.org/2009/08/28/leonard-bernsteins-1972-counter-inaugural/). And there were tens of thousands protesting both of Bush II’s inaugurals in 2001 and 2005 (see http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/jan20.html).
My question is, were there protests at inaugurations before 1913? Did English colonists ever protest the installation of royally appointed colonial governors? Were there protests about the contested elections of Jefferson or John Quincy Adams or Hayes or Harrison? Did southerners demonstrate on inauguration day 1861 against Lincoln? Earlier, did abolitionists, for example, ever protest the occasion? Did the WCTU and temperance activists ever use the tactic?
QuoteHow about the irony of William Henry Harrison’s inauguration: He delivered a long speech without a coat in the cold just to show that he was youthful despite his age–and then he ends up getting sick and dying.
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